Introduction
The general dynamics of the global business environment have changed a lot since the turn of the century. This phenomenon has been influenced by elements such as the increased usage of the internet, technological advancements, globalization, and better legislation. In return, the integration of these elements with various business models has led to the need for better execution of various functions to meet the required market standards (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). According to business experts, the coexistence of these elements is very crucial in terms of achieving the highest standards of advertising, product safety, and intellectual property rights. These three crucial components of the contemporary business environment play a crucial role in reducing the vulnerability of consumers to unethical business practices. The legislation is also an important element in the business world because it helps in protecting the consumers, as well as both the product and the resource value of their brands in respective markets. The promotion of any brand should apply in line with the ethical and legal codes of conduct governing every respective market. Marketing entails a commercial process that promotes, sells, and distributes a product to various consumers.
It is important to ensure that this process is guided by the need to provide consumers with products that do not compromise their health and safety, as well as ensuring it applies within the existing laws (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Intellectual property is also a crucial element of the business world embodied in the spirit of ethical business practices and effective implementation of legislation. One of the key elements in the promotion of intellectual property laws is having a clear understanding of the principles of property rights. This plays a crucial role in understanding the basis of the numerous arguments and counter-arguments developed around the morality of copyright infringement. In education, plagiarism identifies as one of the main infringements to copyrights, while in the entertainment industry the violation happens through owning any content, either recorded or downloaded from the internet without the knowledge of the owner (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Ethics is an important element of the society that cannot be ignored, especially in the contemporary world where there are numerous revenue streams for inventors.
Ethical and legal considerations in marketing
In the United States, the marketing industry is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, whose primary role is monitoring the activities of various advertisers to determine the legality and morality of their work. The main factor that influenced the creation of the federal unit was the widespread violation of ethical standards by advertisers despite the existence of relevant legislation (Pride, 2008). A study conducted by the federal government established that the ethical and legal elements of advertising are intertwined and one can work effectively in the absence of the other. One of the major considerations in marketing is the need, to tell the truth. In the United States, the element of truth in advertising is governed by the Federal Trade Commission Act. According to the legal provisions in the act, all advertisements ought to convey truthful information in a non-deceptive and just manner. Also, the legislation requires marketers to deliver information that can be easily verified (Pride, 2008). In marketing, it is important to ensure that the advertiser does not provide information that is likely to mislead their target audience in terms of the quality and prices of the products. Unfairness is an illegal and unethical practice in marking. It entails the ability and willingness of an advertiser to market a product in a manner that entices many people to buy yet it ends up causing the consumer a substantial degree of damage after using it (Pride, 2008).
Another legal and ethical consideration in marketing is the target audience. A marketer needs to have a clear understanding of the dynamics that characterize the needs and interests of their target audience. For example, advertising for children requires high ethical standards because the target audience may have misinformed interpretations about images or words used in an advert. This element mainly applies when it comes to consumable products, whereby a marketer can sell a product in a manner that makes children addicted to foodstuffs that compromise their development (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). In the United States, the challenge of obesity among children has been highly attributed to unethical advertising, which makes children be hooked to the junk foods that eventually impede their normal development. It is illegal for advertisers to ignore the vulnerability of their target audience to ease of addiction to their products, especially when false information is used to make them more desirable. According to federal laws, such adverts should promote ethical decisions by targeting parents who should have the sole authority to choose the best product for their children (Pride, 2008). Parents and guardians ought to assume the role of decision-makers for their children when dealing with marketing products. Apart from it being their ethical obligation, they have the legal right to do so because any form of complications suffered by children leaves the highest amount of blame on the parent or guardian.
It is also important to make legal and ethical considerations when marketing harmful products. Studies have established that the regulation on marketing of harmful products applies differently across the world. The process entails choosing the option of giving the target audience the freedom to make their preferred product or coming up with legislation that dictates the choices to be made (Pride, 2008). Some harmful products such as cigarettes and alcohol have highly regulated marketing models. The main reason for this is the fact that their adverts cannot be shown on certain media and at particular times. Companies need to adhere to the nature of their products when advertising to avoid creating an ethical compromise. Companies are also legally bound about how they can advertise their products, thus the need to ensure that they work within the law (Pride, 2008). For example, pharmaceutical adverts are supposed to include a list of side effects and the recommended dosage for various users depending on their age or physical state such as pregnancy. Over the years, there have been numerous legal battles between companies and their consumers after using products that were unethically advertised. According to marketing experts, all companies have an ethical obligation of promoting the welfare and safety of the people that use their products by using the correct information during marketing (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). This often plays a crucial role in reducing the costs incurred in legal tussles because of unethical and biased marketing. Studies have established that the tactics used by various advertisers also have huge challenges about working within the law and promoting the ethics code of conduct.
Legal and ethical considerations in product safety
The safety of products released into the market is one of the most important elements that producers ought to observe. Research has established that companies have both legal and ethical obligations towards their customers. Legally, companies have the obligation of ensuring that their products undergo all the standardization process before being released into the market (Brooks, 2012). Companies often find themselves in prolonged legal battles for the failure of ensuring that the products they release into the market are safe for the users and the environment. Studies have established that companies have an ethical responsibility of giving their consumers the guarantee that their products will not compromise their health once they start using them (Pride, 2008). This also entails any impacts that they may have on the environment because it provides the support structure for the life cycle. In respect to this, governments and authorities across the world have numerous laws that govern the way companies are supposed to ensure the safety of the products they release into the market.
All manufacturers are bound by the law to write the relevant safety measures on the packaging of their products as a way of ensuring that their users do not suffer any complications. However, studies have established that some dubious producers often ignore this element, while others fail to provide reliable and accurate information (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Consumers need to get good value for the money they pay to acquire a product, thus the need for producers to ensure that they adhere to high moral standards when releasing their products. Studies have established that the ability of consumers to establish with ease that a certain product has no side effects on them is directly proportional to its commercial success. This plays a crucial role in promoting a brand in a new market because its approval rates among consumers tend to be very high. Therefore, it is both illegal and unethical for a company to release a product into the market without meeting the safety requirements (Brooks, 2012).
Another major element that should be considered when it comes to product safety is the shelf life of a product. Legally, all producers should have a clear knowledge of the shelf life of their products and have it inscribed on the packaging. This plays a crucial role in ensuring that people do not buy expired goods or buy commodities that perish very fast. Ensuring product safety through this element also entails the producer providing storage instructions on the packaging to help the consumer use the product within its perceived shelf life (Brooks, 2012). Numerous people suffer an array of complications because of poorly estimated expiry dates of commodities. This is unethical and illegal because the safety of the consumer, in this case, is often under serious threats that should not be there in the first place. It is unethical for a producer to leave the consumers of their products without adequate information and being incapacitated. Studies have established that the ability of a producer to win the trust of consumers is highly dependent on their willingness to offer quality that matches the price of their commodities (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). All manufactures have a legal liability towards their consumers in terms of the required quality standards.
To achieve this feat manufactures need to carry out thorough market analysis in a bid to understand the needs and experiences of their target consumers. Using the data collected the producers then embarks on manufacturing products that will meet the needs of the respective markets without the possibility of compromising the safety of the users. This element is often provided for under the laws of various countries through standardization bodies (Brooks, 2012). In the United States, this mandate belongs to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, whose primary role is ensuring that the products released into the market by various manufactures met the required safety standards. They also ban products that are released into the market illegally without passing the safety procedures. Although such efforts have been effective in the United States, the success rate in other countries has been very low because it is costly both to the government and to the producers (Trevino & Nelson, 2010).
Legal and ethical issues in intellectual property
Numerous studies have established that the concept of intellectual property revolves a lot around the morality of those who use ideas and information owned by other people, as well as their willingness to act within the law. The ethics of intellectual property have changed a lot over the years due to emerging trends triggered by factors such as technological advancements (Spence, 2007). It is important to note that the right of ownership to one’s concepts or ideas is not a new element in the global business environment. However, the dynamics of the contemporary world have made it harder for people to retain full control over their ideas because the number of people accessing them is very high. The internet has introduced new and more challenging dynamics to the ethics of intellectual property. Some of the new dynamics that have come up because of the increased use of the internet include holding up to a slogan, design, color, and composition. Studies have established that the concept of intellectual property in the contemporary world goes beyond the need to protect the ownership of an idea to include the financial gains generated through it (Spence, 2007). The internet has created numerous revenue streams, especially for individuals in the entertainment industry who upload their content through services such as YouTube.
The United States has been very strict with the promotion of intellectual property rights through patent laws. The country has seen the growth of the concept from the time when the government-owned the rights to every idea conceived by its people to the current situation when people hold the full rights to their conceptions (Spence, 2007). Over the years, various laws have been created to cover the four major areas of intellectual property, namely trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Patents have the highest level of protection as they represent an official document granting an inventor the sole right or privilege to an invention. It is unethical for anyone to use someone’s invention for his or her gain with the knowledge and authority of the owner. The violation of intellectual property rights is common in the entertainment industry and the education sector. In the entertainment industry, artists have dealt with the challenge of piracy over the years because some people sell their copyrighted content without their knowledge and authority (Spence, 2007). The most disturbing thing about piracy is the fact that the original owner of the content often does not get any money from the income generated. In the digital era, the legal considerations in intellectual property have taken a very different dimension to incorporate the use of technology. For example, it is possible to record a television program and save it for other uses. This aspect has created a new challenge to intellectual property rights because individuals who have such recordings have ownership of content that they do not have copyright (Spence, 2007). Also, media owners argue that such kind of illegal and unethical behavior is bad for business because it tends to reduce the number of people watching television.
The same case applies to music and movies that are produced purposely for the television audience. With the increased rate of technological advancements, people have turned to use software that enables them to download the songs and movies from the internet and burning them into DVDs that they sell at competitive prices. The law on intellectual property has sharply targeted the development of such software for the big role they are playing in the increasing rates of copyright infringements across the world (Spence, 2007). The American intellectual property law has several statues that deal with specific elements that pose a threat to this element. Studies have established that the huge threats facing intellectual property have hurt the economy because many inventors have the fear of missing the value of their inventions (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). In particular, the threats have affected the marketing industry, which has thrived over the years on the prospects of new inventions. The rate at which discoveries are made and introduced into the American market has not been as impressive as it would have been perceived, thus the need for the relevant authorities to act accordingly and give assurance to inventors over their ability to enjoy the full benefits of their inventions. However, this does not mean that the inventions released into the American market suffer a high degree of infringement because the American citizens have the privilege of having a constitution that protects the rights of their discoveries (Spence, 2007). The biggest threat to American inventions comes from foreign markets, which have been proven over the years to suffer from the challenge of poor regulation.
Conclusion
Marketing, product safety, and intellectual property are crucial elements of any business environment. The three are embodied through moral and legal parameters, which apply in establishing their impact on the growth experienced within different societies. Marketing plays a crucial role in introducing new products and inventions to the people. It involves informing people about the products, their use, and the value they will have in their lives. Therefore, effective marketing entails high standards of ethics and working within the law. Marketers should avoid giving out false information to improve the acceptability of their products. The process of marketing is closely linked to the safety of the products they sell in terms of their ability to avoid causing any negative complications to the users and the environment. Marketing should also adhere to the rules governing intellectual property, whereby the inventor of a product is allowed to retain the copyrights for their products and receive any monetary gains made out of their work.
References
Brooks, E.C. (2012). Legal and Ethical Issues for the IBCLC. Los Angels, CA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Pride, W. (2008). Marketing. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Spence, M. (2007). Intellectual Property. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Trevino, L.K., & Nelson, K.A. (2010). Managing Business Ethics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.